Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's first responders to natural disasters perform a vital and valuable job in extreme circumstances for communities across our nation;

(b) ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of our first responders is not only the right thing to do but helps them continue their vital work saving lives and supporting communities;

(c) the former Government provided $10 million over two years in the March 2022 budget to Fortem Australia for the establishment of a national support program for first responders to maximise their capacity through stronger mental health, given the huge demands placed on them through the full suite of natural disasters;

(d) this funding was a scale up of the program that Fortem Australia delivered following a competitive tender process in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires; and

(e) in the October 2022 budget, the funding for Fortem Australia was not provided, resulting in an $8 million budget cut that would have meant on-the-ground support for first responders would not be available in the regional towns where it is needed; and

(2) recognises, that following public pressure, the Government has since restored the full $10 million funding for Fortem Australia as announced and provided for in the March 2022 budget so that they can provide vital support for our emergency first responder heroes.

I do recognise that, following public pressure, the government has since restored the full $10 million funding for Fortem Australia, as announced and provided for in the March 2022 budget, so the organisation can provide the vital support that's needed for our emergency first-responder heroes. The members on this side certainly welcome the confirmation that the Albanese Labor government has reconsidered its position of stripping the charity of its funding and have now decided to provide the full budgeted funding to charity organisation Fortem Australia, which provides mental health and wellbeing services to Australia's first responders.

Following an election period, it's convention for an incoming government to continue funding programs that were budgeted by a former government. That's to assist in the continuity of those programs and to provide the certainty for providers in the first instance. After several days of strong public pressure, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Fortem Australia will receive $10 million upfront over one year, despite initially seeking to slash $8 million from this organisation. In a media release, Fortem Australia cofounder and managing director, John Bale, said it was encouraging to see the government supporting the nation's first responders. He said:

These men and women across Australia are always there for us when we need them and have been going above and beyond during floods, fires and COVID over the last few years … We know what we do at Fortem works. Our independent and specialised services ensure there is mental health support available not only for first responders but also their families when they need it …

This funding will allow Fortem Australia the peace of mind to continue their program expansion to assist more emergency personnel at a time when we continue to experience devastating floods and as we head into the summer months. This expansion of programs will also help provide services to regional areas, including Townsville, Ballina, Albury-Wodonga, Gippsland, Dubbo, Nowra, Newcastle, the Sunshine Coast and Launceston as well as Darwin and Perth.

The coalition budgeted funding of $10 million over two years to Fortem Australia back in March after recognising a critical need—a need to provide tailored services to the emergency personnel and their families that come to our rescue every single time we experience a natural disaster or crisis. This was listed in Budget Paper No. 2 on pages 158 and 159. This new decision will undoubtedly be a welcome relief for our first responders in important regional locations. These unsung heroes don't need any additional burden for the work that they do, and their families deserve the peace of mind that they're being well taken care of.

The coalition will always back our first responders. They perform an absolutely vital role in the community, supporting vulnerable people in times of urgent need, such as during bushfires and floods. After the Black Summer bushfires, the toll on first responders was noted, and this program certainly helped them out. It was then expanded to cover additional responders across more locations. It's absolutely in the best interests of this country that our emergency personnel and their families are in tiptop shape when they do their difficult jobs and don't come back to work early after experiencing trauma.

I call on the members of this place who share the sensible view that the funding to provide vital support for our emergency first-responder heroes should be a priority of any government to support this motion. I'm very confident that there is considerable support in this place for the reinstatement of funding for Fortem. Some members here will have seen and experienced some of the things that first responders have experienced, because they were first responders prior to coming into this place. I haven't, but I will be ever so grateful for the rest of my life that there are people out there who are able to do the work of our first responders. I congratulate them. I thank them. We would not be where we are today without them.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

GARLAND () (): I'm really glad that this motion has been put to this chamber because it allows me the opportunity to talk about the things that the Labor government are doing to prioritise the mental health of first responders. And prioritising it is exactly what we're doing. That's why we've committed to funding Fortem with the full $10 million that, I must note, was promised but never delivered by the previous government. This is really a case in point in terms of what I found in my own community of Chisholm: lots of promises were made, lots of announcements were made, but, unfortunately, nothing was ever delivered. Unlike those opposite, we're actually delivering on our promises.

Labor will always stand up for health, including mental health, and will always work to serve those who serve our community: first responders. I know that, in my own community of Chisholm, we have some wonderful volunteers, as well as paid personnel, who work as emergency service workers and first responders. I think it's really appropriate to reflect on the namesake of my seat, Caroline Chisholm, who always gave so much of herself to the community, and I'm really delighted that that spirit continues in my electorate. I've met with workers from the SES and other emergency services that are based in my community, and I've committed to supporting them in all that they do. We're doing what those opposite didn't. They had the chance; they didn't do it. We're delivering funding. We're not stringing a mental health charity along and never delivering. We're doing it.

This point is particularly close to my heart because, for the last couple of years, funding was promised in my electorate—by the previous member, who was a member of the previous government—for a headspace in Box Hill. Over the last two years, the demand for mental health services for young people in my electorate has increased, and it breaks my heart and makes me so angry to think that that service could have been delivered but wasn't. What happened is that the previous government wanted to wait until an election campaign so that they could get photos taken, instead of delivering the service that our community desperately needed. This is another example of us stepping up where those before us had failed to.

We believe absolutely in the work that Fortem do. We know, as do Fortem, that first responder work demands courage. People who demonstrate that courage to serve others are inspiring. One of my favourite maxims from the suffragettes was: 'Courage calls to courage everywhere.' Indeed it does. It inspires us all to do better when we see those who serve our community in ways that put themselves in harm's way and those who deal with some of the most traumatic experiences that our neighbours will ever experience in their lives. But there's also courage in reaching out and seeking help, and that's what we want to back Fortem to help people to do: to acknowledge that, as our first responders, they are experiencing trauma and to encourage them to seek help when there is suicidal ideation, when people prioritise their wellbeing, and when people think about the impacts that their work may have on their relationships with their family and friends and other community groups. I love that Fortem say that 'brave is a choice, not an obligation'. We know that people are actually trying to choose wellbeing. They're making that choice, and they're empowered through that choice. It is a really wonderful empowering way to think about the services for mental health that are provided.

Funding Fortem isn't the end of the work that the Albanese Labor government is doing to support first responders in terms of their mental health. We're working on long-term, sustainable funding solutions. There are a number of other services to deliver this critical work. The national mental health service, for instance, provides an online mental health assessment and triage service to a variety of mental health supports to emergency service workers and volunteers. That includes direct referrals to the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic and the Black Dog Institute, which provide up to 12 free psychological sessions that don't require a GP referral or Medicare, either face to face or via telehealth, which means there's much more reach there for people who need that service. We are committed to the mental health of first responders. I am proud to be a part of a government—

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this very important motion. I welcome the late-to-the-party support from those members opposite because, when this funding eventually runs out for Fortem, I will be going through all of the Hansard transcripts of those who are getting up and talking about how great Fortem is. We'll be raising that when the founding rounds come around again. Fortem is an excellent organisation. In the last parliament, we not only funded them the $10 million that we put on offer in the March budget, but we funded them several millions of dollars.

This is a pet project of mine that I've been working on for more than six years. The then superintendent of the Queensland Ambulance Service, Neil Reid, who is a constituent of mine, came to me and said, 'Andrew, you guys and the feds do so much for our vets; what are you doing for first responders?' My initial response was that the first responders are the responsibility of the states and territories. We look after defence at the ADF. But, I thought, that's not good enough. Our first responders are our men and women in uniform back home. We provide $11½ billion through the Department of Veterans' Affairs to our veterans, and so we should. But the sad reality is that our first responders, who see so much carnage on our roads and in our homes—floods, fires, you name it—do not get looked after properly by the state and territory governments. Enter Fortem. Fortem was the brainchild of John Bale, who started Soldier On. I had a lot to do with John when he was with Soldier On. He and I got together, and I tried to get funding for Fortem through various ministers when we were in government. I want to give a shout-out to the member for Maranoa, who was the first federal minister to provide funding to Fortem. He understood the importance of providing mental health care to our front-line first responders here in Australia. Whilst technically it is not the responsibility of the federal government, morally it is. I'm not going to stand here and get into an argument about constitutional jurisdictions, particularly when the state and territory governments are not pulling their weight. When they weren't looking after the mental health of our first responders, sadly, we needed to step in.

In March, in this last round of funding, we provided $10 million to Fortem. I was extremely disappointed when the now Labor government did not carry that through. Fortem had already received $2 million, or the promise of $2 million, but they had had $8 million cut from their budget by this Labor government. I and the member for McPherson, and every other coalition member who has served in uniform as a first responder, stood up at a press conference and said, 'We will not let this stand.' In fact, I spoke with the minister personally. I said, 'Minister, we've got to change this; we've got to make sure that the funding flows through to our first responders.' I wasn't given a lot of hope, but with the help of the media and the coalition members, we effectively forced the Prime Minister's hand on this. I'm very pleased that the Prime Minister changed his mind about providing the additional $8 million. I thank him for it. We didn't want to make this a political issue because this is above politics, just as the service of our veterans is.

The Fortem organisation provide tremendous services. I've had them to a roundtable in my electorate—in fact, not a roundtable but a whole seminar—where I invited all my emergency service responders to come along. They are a great organisation. They care not just for the mental health of first responders but also for their families, who go through so much trauma—almost as much is the first responders themselves. I'm very pleased the government has turned around on this point and I thank them for it.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me first acknowledge the extraordinary work of emergency service workers and first responders who are, right now, in flood and storm affected communities across many parts of New South Wales. I also acknowledge the extraordinary work of first responders across Australia over a very challenging three years. They deserve the support of our parliament and they have the support of this government.

It has been a difficult time for communities, and I welcome the recent announcement of the disaster recovery payment being extended to the New South Wales local government areas of Cabonne, Dubbo, Parkes and Walgett. This support will help communities tackle immediate needs like food and clothing, and it complements assistance already available in the area, including 13-week income support for workers and sole business operators and the jointly funded Commonwealth and state government grants of $75,000 for primary producers, $10,000 for rural landholders and clean up assistance for land councils. The extension brings the total number of New South Wales LGAs to 14. This severe weather has been widespread and devastating, to say the least. I encourage all impacted people to check their eligibility for these payments.

We in this place all know that the latest flood crisis hitting New South Wales is on the back of other disasters across other states and territories. It feels never-ending and I can only imagine the impact on our first responders and their families. This motion notes that the mental health and wellbeing of first responders is vitally important, and I agree.

The challenges of first responders was first brought home to me during my years working with the members of the Australian Federal Police Association. It's there I gained a much deeper understanding of the traumatic and stressful nature of much of the work that falls within the remit of our first responders. We all need to support those who are there for communities in crisis and for individuals in crisis. The mental health of first responders is a priority for me and the Albanese government.

In relation to the substantive matter of the motion, the funding for Fortem, the full $10 million will be delivered. We are not just promising this; we are going to deliver it. Fortem Australia has welcomed the announcement to allow the not-for-profit organisation to continue supporting first responders across the country. I note that the funding will allow Fortem to address a growing list of first responders who are seeking clinical support to address mental health problems as natural disasters continue to affect many parts of the country. This funding will also ensure that Fortem can expand its community engagement services on the ground in more locations across regional Australia. The Albanese government is actually doing what the previous government did not, by actually delivering the funding instead of promising it, stringing along a mental health charity and never delivering.

Although the start of this motion from the member for McPherson was broad in nature and is supportive and positive, the motion is critical of our government's actions. Just for the record: the previous government announced $10 million in funding for Fortem but did not provide any funding to them despite the announcement. Before the election, Fortem began to spend the funding based on the announcement, and asked the new government to urgently provide funding because of this. The former government, the one the member for McPherson was a cabinet minister in, tried to cut $4 million of funding for the National Emergency Management Agency during the floods.

More broadly, we all know that mental health support matters. This government believes in mental health support for first responders, and we are working on long-term sustainable funding solutions. In addition to Fortem, we fund a range of services to deliver this crucial work. The National Mental Health Service provides an online mental health assessment and triage service and a variety of mental health supports to emergency service workers and volunteers. This also includes direct referrals to the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic and the Black Dog Institute, who provide up to 12 free psychological sessions—either face to face or via telehealth—that do not require a GP referral or Medicare. Further, the government is committed to implementing the National Disaster Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework.

We're currently in the process of looking at long-term, sustainable measures to support communities and first responders impacted by disasters. I support the efforts of the department and the National Emergency Management Agency to work together to ensure transparent, responsive and cohesive structures are in place so we have a strong level of preparedness when disasters continue to strike.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At home in Casey we rely heavily on our first responders. First responders are one of the resources that you are proud to have but hope you never need. As scenic as the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges are, our area has had its fair share of natural disasters. Time and time again we have found ourselves relying on the police and our selfless volunteers with the CFA and the SES.

This is something I know all too well, having narrowly escaped the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. Our communities were again left battered after the June 2021 storms and the recent floods, and this was yet another reminder of how important first responders are to our electorate. In times of emergency, we rely on courageous volunteer firefighters with the local CFA and rescue teams from the SES. There are at least 31 volunteer fire brigades and several SES units across Casey. The people out there in fire pumpers on Black Saturday working hard to save life and property also had homes of their own under threat. Many of them were locals, all impacted in one way or another, but they still worked tirelessly for the benefit of the wider community.

The courage of our first responders to be on the scene when we need them most is not something we should ever take for granted. A day in the life of a first responder includes attending fatal car crashes, suicides, fires, floods and other emergencies. It's not a day you can debrief with your family at the dinner table. First responders are so busy being there for everyone else that they forget to prioritise their own wellbeing. There were 197 intentional self-harm deaths of current or former police, ambulance and fire service employees reported to the coroner across Australia from 2001 to 2016. Unfortunately the electorate of Casey was impacted by this as well. But behind these numbers are people—mums and dads, families and communities.

That's why the former coalition government provided $10 million in funding for Fortem Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that provides specialised wellbeing and mental health support to first responders and their families. Fortem Australia uses research and best practice to support the health and wellbeing of people, and the families of people, who work or have worked in national security and emergency response roles. The families of first responders sacrifice time with their loved ones so they can go out and support Australians in natural disasters and emergencies. They face life-or-death situations every single day and the trauma that comes with that is deep and ongoing, and we owe it to first responders to do what we can to help in return. Fortem Australia is a perfect example of an organisation making a difference in this space while also recognising the impact on the responders' families.

It's a disgrace that the Albanese government removed funding for Fortem Australia in their October 2022 budget. The budget was a test for Labor and they failed. They ripped away funding that quite literally saved lives. That is, of course, until last week, when the government backflipped on their decision and decided to once again follow in the footsteps of the coalition by supporting first responders. Managing Director of Fortem Australia, John Bale, made a public plea for the government to reinstate the funding, something that he should never have had to do. He said the organisation can't keep up with the number of first responders seeking support. He said they currently provide 300 psychological sessions a month and warned that people would die if this didn't continue. The government might think they can save face by reinstating that funding, but first responders and their families should never have had to question whether than support would be available.

To seek support takes courage, and I am pleased to see that this funding has been reinstated, but I condemn the government for making such an important organisation plead for funding that literally saves the lives of the people who save others' lives. We must do everything we can to support our first responders. I will always stand by our hardworking emergency service workers and I thank them sincerely for all they do in the community—in Casey and across the nation.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the previous speakers and, like them, thank our first responders, as I do, often, in my electorate and across the country. But, more than that, I am acting to support them in the areas where they need support, and the work at Fortem is part of that. Part of it also is a commitment of $3.6 million for supported accommodation for veterans and first responders in my electorate when they need it because of the difficult work that they do and the trauma that they see, often on a daily basis. When they need that support we will be there to support them and give them a place where they can rest up and get connected to the services they need.

I've been working with Fortem for some time and there is a Fortem staff person in Darwin. What the funding from the federal government will do is enable a psychologist to be employed to work in Darwin in my electorate, supporting people in the Northern Territory with the mental health support that they need because of their important work. They're the best of our community, whether they be full-time salaried people or volunteers. We owe them a great deal. As well as those who serve on the front line in health and defence, just in my family there is a firey, and one of my nephews is an ambulance officer. They're about serving and protecting the community. A lot of my mates who were in the military have gone on to serve with the police force. They do so bravely.

Whether it be facing crime, helping Australians that have been pulled into a rip-tide or facing Australians who have been injured, they are doing horrific things that we don't want the rest of the community to have to do. That's why we have first responders. Just imagine picking up a baby that has passed away, out of a car crash. Imagine the trauma of that. But someone has to do it, and our first responders are the ones that do it. And that's why we're backing them. That's why, as the Prime Minister announced on Remembrance Day, we're going to make sure that Fortem has the funds to have services like the one I've described for Darwin: a Fortem psychologist to provide that support to our first responders. It's important.

When I talk to veterans about first responders, they say they've got all the respect in the world for them because they are on the job facing those situations every day—danger, every day. There's a great deal of respect between the two, and that's why the Scott Palmer Services Centre, named after commando Scotty Palmer, who was killed in Afghanistan in a tragic helicopter accident, will honour him by having a facility that not only helps veterans but helps first responders as well.

Now, the member for McPherson is making a partisan point here, and I don't usually seek to draw the services into partisan debate, but what her motion does allow us to do is to speak about our first responders and to honour them. Rather than being partisan, I'll be bipartisan and say that I was happy and impressed when Prime Minister Morrison announced last year that the government would commit $10 million in funding for Fortem in its April budget. Of course, the only problem was that that announced funding never actually came into existence. The funding was announced—and we know they were great at that—but it was never appropriated in the former government's budget. Former Prime Minister Morrison announced the funding but didn't appropriate it in the budget.

First responders out there and their families, to whom we owe so much, will see that funding for Fortem appropriated in the budget in full so that we can provide our first responders the services that they and their families need for providing the services that they do. We owe our first responders, and their families, a great deal. We'll provide that support with this funding.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for McPherson for bringing this motion forward. I thank the member for Solomon for his service to our nation, and I note his comments in relation to the Scott Palmer Services Centre in Darwin, a wonderful facility. I also note the fact that it will deliver services not just for our veterans—and don't they deserve it—but also for our first responders. I note the member's bipartisanship and thank the government for any funding that they can provide to veterans and to these wellness and wellbeing centres for first responders as well.

I note my disappointment with the fact that $5 million has been stripped away from Wagga Wagga for not just a veterans centre but also, in conjunction with that, a first responders support facility. This would have been a wonderful facility and amenity for the Riverina and for veterans, of whom there are many. There are nearly 1,500 in the city alone, but across the broader electorate there are thousands, Deputy Speaker Wilkie. I know you know how important our veterans are, and I know you know how important our veterans are in the Riverina, having had an association with the Kapooka Army base there.

This is about first responders—they are the brave people who run to a calamity, to a disaster, to a tragedy, when others are running in the opposite direction. When others are running away, our first responders—be they police, be they ambulance officers or be they people who work in firefighting—are the ones who are putting their lives at risk and putting their lives on the line. A huge number of state emergency services people descended upon Forbes, Eugowra and other Central West communities. Many of them came from flood affected communities, Mullumbimby and others, and gave up their time. I say thank you to their employers as well. Let's not forget them, because they are allowing the SES people, the volunteers, to give their time.

But it's not just first responders; it's not just SES; it's not just paid full-time or volunteer people. It's also those first responders who are just ordinary, everyday people, such as local Eugowra fitter and farmer Pat Welsh and some of his mates: John Augustin, Stephen 'Snow' Jones and Mick 'Sparky' Miles. They too put their lives on the line when, on Monday last week, Eugowra was absolutely swamped.

I was speaking to Max Gransden, a 70-year-old lifelong resident of Eugowra. He said he had water pooling around his ankles and he thought, 'Gee, this flood is more serious than I first thought.' He said, 'The next minute I was scrambling for safety because it was up around my chin.' There are stories of the bravery of so many people. Snow, Sparky and others commandeered a fire brigade vehicle and rescued not just a few people but dozens of people. I hope they receive the due recognition they've earned, a bravery medal, because each and every one of them deserves it.

Max told me that a disaster in the dark would have cost 150 people. It would have been a Grantham-style disaster, but, fortunately—in one sense, if you could use that word—it happened at around eight or 8.30 in the morning. Even though there has been a tragedy in town—Diane Smith, a loved local, lost her life and there are a couple of others missing—the death toll wasn't in the order of a national disaster. Yes it is a national disaster, because it is going to take a lot of time to recover and that community will feel the effects of this for years to come, but our first responders have done a mighty job in the electorate of Calare—I note that the member is away this week—and in the Riverina, which takes in the central-western town of Forbes, which has now had four peaks of the Lachlan River this year. Just think of that—four peaks—and yet we've got Rocky Walshaw; Ben Pickup, the SES Parkes incident controller; and Ken Murphy, the SES senior management capability incident controller for the Lachlan Valley, doing a mighty job along with all the other first responders.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last few years our nation has certainly seen its fair share of troubles, with increasing numbers of bushfires and floods and with the pandemic and other emergencies. These events have really tested our nation, yet through it all, our emergency services personnel continue to turn up and get our communities through these very dark times. We are facing continuing issues with flooding in the eastern states. We know that with the onset of summer we will be facing bushfires, yet again and again, our first responders will turn-up. As the member for Riverina mentioned, they run to disasters, not away from them. It takes a very special person to commit their lives to giving back to their communities in this way.

I've worked with many first responders over many years and seen the way in which they turn up to the most stressful events. They get people through. They do their best. They put up with the most terrible emergencies—damaged bodies, death, loss of limbs, loss of major organs—and yet they turn up again and again. This of course can have severe implications on their mental health. So I very much welcome our government's funding commitment of $10 million to Fortem Australia to provide support for the ongoing mental health issues of our first responders who need it. They are our top priority. I am very grateful to be a member of the Albanese Labor government, which turns up time and time again to support people during disasters.

I'm a little concerned that the motion of the member for McPherson is a little critical, because she was in government with the Morrison government, which was always there for the photo opportunity but never there with support. I am concerned that the member for MacPherson can be so superficially critical of the Albanese government, because we turn-up, we provide funding, we support people and we are there every time. I will dispel a myth that the very outset. The former minister may claim that she and the previous government provided funding for Fortem, but that is untrue. The Liberals announced funding for Fortem as part of their last budget, but they never sought to pass the appropriate appropriation bills containing the funding measures for it. They had the opportunity to do so and they chose not to. So the money never actually existed. It is another myth from a failed government. It takes some gall for those opposite to lecture us about showing up for first responders, given the last Prime Minister chose to holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. The Liberals played politics with Fortem around their funding, but they failed to deliver, of course. It was the worst type of cynical politics from those opposite. It continues, and one really does wonder about their motives.

The Albanese government continues to provide psychological support and support by being there and turning up. The Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt, epitomises the view of our government. We turn-up and we do things. We carry through on what we say. We are providing psychological support. We are providing GP support. We are providing mental health support for all those who need it. We support our first responders. We stand side by side with them. The work of the first responders is vital, and we will turn up for them every time. I am very proud and thankful for Macarthur's first responders, including the Campbelltown and Camden police, our paramedics, medical personnel from Camden and Campbelltown hospitals, Fire and Rescue NSW, as well as our local rural fire service and SES units. I have been to the control centre at Picton and I saw how they worked during the bushfires in 2020. I have been there and I have seen how they support everyone in our community, and I continue to support them.

Unfortunately, we lost two volunteer firefighters, Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer, during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires in Buxton. I will remember them. These two outstanding men were local fathers and leaders, and I am very grateful for them. (Time expired)

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.